Diwali: a Festival of Homecoming & Togetherness

Lights. Camera. Festivities!

It’s that time of the year again! Peppered with a gazillion festivals big and small, it’s the season when the whole nation finds an excuse to celebrate with gusto. To come together and revel like there’s no tomorrow is a feeling, an experience that stays with you. The energy this time is infectious! The kind of infection you just don’t mind catching.

But of the many joyous occasions celebrated in this precursory phase to winter, the one that shines the brightest is Diwali.

No, not just because of the literal association of lighting diyas, candles and what-nots, but of the inherent glow this festival holds within. The glow of togetherness that illuminates everything it touches, bringing people into its fold of enriching light.

Togetherness is at the heart of Diwali

Vibrant expressions of joy that spread all around us, festivals are nothing but a celebration of life. And what’s life without togetherness? Diwali epitomizes this collective spirit of celebration very well, serving as a unifying force that binds people in a spell of happiness.

If you take a walk down memory lane and look back at your own experiences of the Festival of Lights, you’ll recall your family preparing for it a fortnight in advance. Cleaning the house, decorating it, preparing sweetmeats, shopping for the imminent celebrations – doing it all together. Every single aspect of this festival is a family affair.

You can almost form a vivid sensory image of the whole experience and you’ll find this grand picture sparkling with people you care about. That’s always been the very essence of Diwali. It’s all about ‘the more, the merrier’. Whether it’s friends, family or the community at large you’re a part of.

The story behind this festival of light

Though app-based sale fests and shopping mall discounts will make you feel that Diwali has little more to offer than being a homogenized, consumer-centric bingeing frenzy, the story of the festival will tell you otherwise.

As the lore famously goes, Diwali was celebrated on the darkest night of the year, marking the homecoming of Ram, Sita and Lakshman after the end of a 14-year long exile. This return was a particularly symbolic one, involving the defeat of Raavan and the victory of good over evil.

Legend has it that Ram defeated Raavan on the last day of Navratri (celebrated as Dusshera), and it took 20 days for the party to make it home after their victory. Since, 20 days after Dusshera was the night of a new moon, the historic city of Ayodhya was covered in a blanket of darkness.

To light up Ram’s way and to celebrate the arrival of the trio, the entire city was decked up in earthen lamps, creating an illuminated pathway that could be seen from afar, signaling the joys to come while being symbolic of the power of light in darkness.

Not just a homecoming of Lord Ram, but of everyday Rams & Sitas

Although at the core of Diwali lies the homecoming story of Ram, Sita & Lakshman, it isn’t just the divine trio that finds their way back home at this time of the year.

For many of young India’s students and working professionals, Diwali is the time to pack your bags and go back home to enjoy the sights and sounds of the festivities with their loved ones.

Everyday Rams, Sitas and Lakshmans might take the chance to miss other festivals of the year, spending them away from home, but come October-November and you know the tickets will be booked well in advance.

There’ll be excitement in the air to return back to homemade kaju barfis and dry fruit laddoos; to play teen patti in the evening with fam jam and to light phuljharis and anaars into the wee hours of the dawn.

A spiritual illumination

Despite symbolizing strong bonds, togetherness and homecoming, Diwali also exemplifies a different kind of journey: that within.

The festival of Diwali has a deep spiritual meaning. The very term Deepavali (literally a ‘string of lights’) carries the essence of the Awareness of the Inner Light in its nomenclature. You can say that in some ways, it is the true celebration of the awakening and awareness of one’s inner light, which can illuminate even the darkest hour.

This calls to mind the ancient shloka ‘Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya’, which translates to “lead me from darkness to light.” It’s up to us to journey back within and find the light inside, letting it shine like the bright beacon of positivity, knowledge and love that it is.

Isha Group celebrates harmonious homecoming everyday

Being one of the top builders in Kolkata, Isha Group takes pride in bringing families together in homes they love. We are constantly inspired by the togetherness of a family unit, reflected so well in the most festive time of the year. We carry this inspiration forward, making it our duty as real estate developers in Kolkata to create residential spaces that symbolize harmonious homecoming. All our projects, be it luxury flats in Kolkata or premium residential properties, present a sanctuary you and your family can thrive in every day.